Aker Offshore Wind, Aker Horizons and the University of Strathclyde have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at driving forward the development of recovery processes for used glass fibre products, including a process developed at Strathclyde.
Under the terms of the MoU, the parties will scale up and commercialise a process developed at lab scale by Strathclyde for thermal recovery and post-treatment of glass fibres from GRP scrap to achieve near-virgin quality glass fibres. Aker Horizons and Aker Offshore Wind will contribute with funding and relevant competencies to bring the solution into an industrial setting. Furthermore, broad expertise in chemical processing and carbon capture within the wider Aker group, will ensure the industrialisation to be safe and sustainable. Developed by the Strathclyde’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the GRP Recycling can turn composite waste into re-usable fibre reinforcement and could serve 50% of global glass fibre demand if implemented worldwide. As the process produces both mid- to high-value fibres, a broad spectrum of the market can be covered, ranging from less demanding to high performance products.
